A Madame and A Friend
by hanachiyo
Summary: Luka is a girl who lived the life of both a high school student and a daughter of a famous landlord, as a proper lady. She moved into a new city just 2 weeks ago, and there, she encounters a boy.
1. Chapter 1

It was the first day of school after a long summer and Luka was hesitating on the door of her new class.

_Well, this _is_ the first day; it's normal to feel nervous_ she thought, fiddling with her thumbs. _And it's a new school anyway, so I'm new and.. _she started pacing and stopped, took a deep breath, and blew it out loud.

"Here goes," she mumbled then took a step forward

Luka slid open her new class' door and the teacher was nodding at her, giving her the cue to step to the front of the class and introduce herself.

"Hello everyone, my name is Luka Megurine, you can call me Luka, I just transferred here to Ohio 2 weeks ago, from my hometown, Maine. That means I'm kinda new here so I hope you can tell me anything I'd need to know," she bowed, and the class murmured 'hello's and 'okay's.

"Luka, you can take the seat over.." the teacher, Mrs. Neru, circled her finger around the class, looking for an empty seat, "There," she stopped and pointed to a seat in the middle of the class, between a pretty green-haired girl and a guy. Luka walked slowly over and sat on the chair. Turning left, she saw the girl smiling at her.

"Hey, I'm Gumi," she lifted her hand from the table for Luka to shake.

"Hi," Luka smiled timidly, shaking Gumi's hand back.

When the day ended, everyone in class spent some time introducing himself or herself to Luka. Everyone, except the blonde guy sitting on her right. Luka didn't mind, but she was confused. _Maybe he forgot. Or something,_ she thought.

"Sis, I'm home," Luki Shindou said as he stepped in his house. His golden retriever, Pepperoni padded over. "I'm home, boy, oohh ya miss me?" he ruffled its ears and she licked him.

"Hey honey, I'm in the kitchen!" his mom answered.

Luki kicked his shoes off and put them tidily on the rack. He scratched the back of his head then walked over to the kitchen.

"How's school, hm?" his mom asked as she chopped the carrots into small, thick circles

"Eh, nothing much, a new girl just came in," Luki answered, popping one of the sliced carrots in his mouth, and kissed his mom on the cheek

"Oooh, new girl! Is she pretty? Do ya like her Luki?" his mom teased.

Luki sighed and rolled his eyes. "Mom, you always do that. She's-" Luki gasped, "Oh my God! I forgot to introduce myself!" Luki clutched his head in a how-in-the-world-could-i-even-forget-that-kind-of-thing way. "Mom! I'm going to her house!" he grabbed his jacket and ran out the door before his mom even said a word.

"That's Luki. Feels guilty for a little thing. He could've done it tomorrow," his mom shook her head, the corner of her mouth twisting to an amused smile.

Luki actually ran all the way to school. He was completely breathless by the time he arrived. He sat down for a while behind the water faucets outside, swiping sweat out of his brows and taking deep breath. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was four-thirty already. He groaned miserably and ran upstairs to the teacher's office.

"Mrs. Neru!" he called out as he opened the door.

"Luki? What are you doing here so late?" Mrs. Neru raised an eyebrow at him.

"I need the new girl's uh, what's her name, oh! Luka's address!"

"Oh?" Mrs. Neru's eyebrows shot up, "Whatcha gonna do? Hit on her? You might just win her with your looks," she snickered at him playfully.

"Mrs. Neru, you're just like my mom," Luki sighed.

"Okay, okay, it's somewhere.." she scrambled around his table, "Here! Maple Street two-oh-seven"

Luki thanked Mrs. Neru and ran down the stairs to the school gate. He saw Uncle Kei's bicycle rent nearby and asked if he could borrow it for a day. The rent owner, Uncle Kei, knew Luki very well and winked, "Oh, go on, fine lad! It's on the house today!"

"Madame, it's dinner time, do you want me to bring it to your room, or?" Luka's butler asked from the door.

"No, it's fine Gakupo, I'll be down in a moment," she answered

Luka was reading her two thousand page Etiquette Book. It's a secret, but she doesn't want anyone to know that she's a famous landlord's daughter, who owned so many companies. She never bragged around about it, except if someone found out on his or her own. But in a good way, she was thankful for what she has and often shared it to an orphanage she asked her father to build for homeless and orphaned children who lived in the streets. The children there loved her with all their hearts, and feel so delighted when she decides to visit them, or even stay with them for a couple of nights. They would fight over who sleeps beside or with Luka, and it would end up sleeping all together. Luka smiled at the thought of her favorite place in the world. It was the only place she had no worries, no confusion, and no secrets.

"Madame," Gakupo called out again, starting to feel impatient, "You'll get sick if you don't eat now,"

"Okay, Gakupo, I'm coming," _He's such a worrywart, but a sweetheart, _Luka smiled. She took off her pointed reading glasses, folded them carefully and tucked it in its case then slipped off her turquoise chair. Lifting her cream nightdress a little bit to let her walk well, she slipped into her low, thin-heeled, cream house mules and stepped down the circling stairs to the first floor hall. The only sound she could hear was the click of her mules. She walked down her house's long, marble corridor with pillars on the left and right and 7 rooms later, the dining room was open and her maids and butlers were all waiting for her.

"Good evening, milady," everyone murmured and bowed.

"Evening," Luka smiled at every one of them, even asked how they and their family were doing and sat down on the red plush chair on the edge of the dining table.

Food in silver platters and tea in perfectly polished silver teapots were served, not too much, but enough for one person to eat. Luka had Stroganoff on the plate directly in front of her. It was her absolute favorite, and she started eating it with flawless manner.


	2. Chapter 2

Luki pedaled over the streets to Maple Street 207. There were so many houses that were all unfamiliar, so he counted his way.

"Maple 204, Maple 205, Maple 206," he glanced left and right as he pedaled.

And he came upon a huge house with humongous pillars and gigantic windows with large curtains and great wooden doors he could even see over the enormous gates. He was circling his eyes looking for a doorbell; instead, he found a little white box on the left side of the gate. The house was so wide; Luki couldn't even see the edges. _Whoa, is this really Luka's house?_ He thought. He daintily tapped on the red button with "SPEAK" written above it on the little box.

"I don't even know how this works," he mumbled.

"May I know who is visiting this late?" a low, dignified voice came from the intercom.

Luki jumped. _So this is an intercom, _he made a mental note.

"I-it's Luki, Luki Shindou, a friend of, Luka Megurine?" Luki said into the intercom.

Luka's eyes widened ever so slightly. _Luki? Which one is- oh. _That _one. _She wanted to gasp out loud, knowing her secret was figured out by one of her classmate. But "Keeping your facial expression stable is a very important etiquette," is in her book, so she did what it said.

"Let him in," Luka regained her composure.

"Very well," Gakupo nodded at a pair of maid and butler, and they scurried off to open the gate for Luki.

"Come in, sir guest," they greeted and bowed to Luki

"Uh, o-okay, thanks a lot," Luki winced, as if speaking casually hurt. He wasn't really used, or even, he never had people bow to him in his life. He looked up in awe at Luka's house. _Who exactly _is _she? _ Luki thought.

Luka changed into her long, white silk dress and tied up her hair, securing it to a knot just above her shoulder. She tied up her white, criss-crossed strap heels and walked politely towards the door to welcome Luki.

"Hello, Luki. If you would," Luka gestured with her hand, telling Luki to walk beside her.

"Hey, Luka, wha-" Luki started to speak, but got cut off by Luka's let's-talk-about-it-later glance. It was so frantic and panicked Luki decided to follow her.

They walked along the corridor without a word until they came up to the second floor and reached a dark velvet meeting room at the end of the corridor, near the window that came from the first floor, all through until the top of the house.

"Gakupo, thank you," Luka smiled at him and closed the door behind her.

Luka and Luki had a 3-minute stare-off, with thousands of different expressions written on each of their faces. One was anxious, one was nervous. Then one was unfocused, and the other was amazed.

"So…" Luki tried to start a conversation, entwining his hands and putting his elbows on his knees.

"Please don't tell anyone!" Luka blurted, "I-I never meant to be so noble and haughty, feeling higher and mightier and richer than anyone else, no no, no such thing, if anyone else knows they're gonna hate me so much and they're gonna stay away from me and they're gonna stare at me with these looks and would want to push me, please please please!" she begged.

"Well, I actually came here to introduce myself," Luki said quietly.

Luka looked surprised. _A friend would come here this late at night only to introduce himself to me?_

"Okay, let's do that then," Luka said, trying to break off the weird atmosphere from her blabbing. She cleared her throat and glanced at him very nervously.

"Hello, I'm Luki Shindou, I live in Cherry Street 133 with my older mom, and I'm in the same class as you are," Luki introduced.

"I see. Hello, Luki, I'm Luka Megurine, I live in….. I live with…" Luka grimaced, unable to finish her sentence. Tears brimmed in her eyes threatening to roll down. Her body started to tremble and she gritted her teeth, muting her sobs.

"Luka? Luka, are you okay?" Luki asked, worry creasing on his forehead. He walked around the carved glass table between him and Luka and over to where she sat. He put his arm around Luka's shoulder and rubbed it in calming movements. Luka tried stop sobbing and hiccupping, but tears kept rolling down her cheeks. She rested her head on the space between Luki's head and shoulder and covered her face. It felt awkward, being so close to a person she just met, but it was so nice she didn't complain. They stayed like that for some moment and after she calmed down, Luki whispered, "There. It's okay, I'm here, I'm here." Luki turned his face towards Luka's and held her shoulders.

"Luka, whatever reason you have for wanting to keep your identity a secret, I can understand," Luki said, "though not really, I have never experienced or even _saw _these kind of things in my life," he mumbled, "anyway, you can trust me, because your secret is safe with me." He looked at her square in the eye, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear that came loose when she blurted not to tell anyone.

Luka just nodded. She hoped she knew that her secret was with a person she can depend and trust on. Relieve washed over her after seeing that Luki really meant what he said.

Luka realized, Luki wasn't asking any question. He kept silent, but stayed close to her. _Why isn't he asking me about anything?,_ Luka looked at him. He looked back, and Luka could see all the confusion in his eyes, but what she saw most was the worry. She smiled.

"What?" Luki asked

"Nothing," Luka said, her smile breaking to a grin. "Don't you want to know why I cried?"

_She saw right through me._ Luki thought, astonished.

"Well, I do, but I was afraid that you might get offended or feel sad when I ask so…" Luki's sentence broke down to incomprehensible mutters.

"No, it's okay, you're the first person I've ever told this story to anyway, so here it is. When I was 7, I lived in Maine, and studied in a school, hiding my identity too. It was going so well for 2 years, but suddenly, my best friend saw me coming to my house in Maine and saw Gakupo and everyone else, and the next morning everyone seemed so distant. I was confused, so I came to her to ask what happened. Instead of answering me, she pushed me away and shouted, 'If you're so rich why would you want to study here? _Madame Luka? _To observe how poor and how ugly and how lowlife our school quality is?' and everyone booed me, shouted bad words at me, and threw al kinds of stuff to me. They even pulled my hair and ripped my bag. My best friend stood there with a nasty look on her face and when everything stopped, she passed me and whispered, "You deserve it," and giggled away. For a seven-year old me, that was a very, very, traumatic experience. I didn't go to school for three years. And when I was 12, I tried another, but the same thing happened, only the one getting to know it first wasn't my best friend, it was my crush. So, I moved here and tried a new life. Ever since, I've had a hard time loving a guy or trusting a friend." Luka ended the story with a melancholy smile.

Luki looked at her with great amazement. _She kept trying though. Tough girl,_ he complimented in his thoughts. He glanced at the clock hanging on the ceiling and nearly fell from his chair.

"No, no no no no, it's eleven! No no aahh," Luki panicked, pacing back and forth.

"Oh dear, I lost track of time, I'm sorry Luki, I really am, would you like to stay for the night? Gakupo has some clothes," Luka offered out of pure courtesy.

Luki thought it felt wrong for staying in a girl's house, but it was so late and cycling all the way home would be dangerous.

"Okay, just let me call my mom," Luki said

Luka nodded and opened the meeting room door, telling Gakupo that Luki would stay for the night and that he needs to use to telephone. Gakupo nodded and Luki came with him to the phone table down, next to the stairs. Five minutes passed and Luki had made the call. Gakupo prepared the room next to Luka's for Luki to sleep, and gave him pajamas.

"Good night, Luki. Thanks for listening to my story," Luka smiled at him.

"It's nothing. Night, Luka." Luki smiled back as he closed the door.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Luki was awakened by the sound of curtains opening and Gakupo's greeting.

"Good morning, Master Luki," he said as he opened the curtains.

Luki just nodded at him while rubbing his eyes. _Oh, so last night wasn't a dream,_ he regarded to himself. He ruffled his hair then swiped it out of his eyes. It fell right back to place. A white slipper was waiting at the side of his bed. He slipped his feet into it and walked towards the bathroom in the room

The bathroom was marble. There was a large bathtub (with whirlpool facility) and a tall shower stall. The mirror on the wall was huge, with a light from the top. He clicked his tongue in amazement. "This house and this visit will maybe be on the 7 Wonders of My Life," he muttered.

Finishing his bath in 15 minutes, he put on the long sleeved shirt and jeans that Gakupo gave him. He dried his hair randomly and didn't even bother combing it. He opened the door to his room and grabbed his backpack. He was about to turn right when Gakupo caught his arm, "That is the servant's rooms, Master," he said, a smile threatening on the corner of his lips. "Ah, sorry," Luki apologized, feeling so lost in the house. He walked behind Gakupo, who was leading him to the dining room. He heard a beautiful song from in there. When he went in through the golden-handled doors, he saw Luka, sitting in front of a golden harp, her hands plucking the strings gently, and a smile on her face.

"Good morning, Luki," Luka smiled sweetly from the harp seat.

"Hey, Luka," Luki grinned back.

He took some grilled chicken and mashed potato with gravy on his plate and ate slowly, devouring the perfect texture of the mashed potato, the scrumptious chicken, and the delicious gravy. He glanced towards Luka and saw that she was finished with her breakfast. She tapped her napkin to her lips and stood gracefully from her chair, then glided to where Luki sat. "I will be waiting at the front door," and glided away even further, to the doors of her house. Luki gobbled up the rest of his breakfast, smiled and bowed to the maids and butlers then trotted along the corridors and stopped next to Luka. She was waiting for him at the front door. She thanked everyone and stepped down the stairs nimbly. Then, stepping out the front gate, all the stiffness was gone.

"Is it tiring?" Luki asked

"Hm? The etiquette?"

"Yeah. It looks difficult and all,"

"Nah, not really. I've been doing those since I was 3. Being a landlord's daughter, etiquette is important for dinner meetings, parties, dances, and those kinds of things. I've learned to balance between when I should use proper etiquette and when to not—sorry I was blabbing," Luka blushed

"No, I asked," Luki pulled up his sleeves

Luka was wearing a cream lacy dress with loose long-sleeves and black leggings. She decided to let her hair loose, in which some of it stuck beneath the strap of her brown shoulder bag. She felt that, so she took the bag off for a while, and shook her head. Her hair fell back to place perfectly, and then she slung her bag back on her shoulder.

The rest of the way, Luki and Luka got to know each other better. Luka knew that Luki was a smart, musical, and sport loving, and Luki knew that Luka was too. Though she didn't have time to do a lot of sport at home, but she loved it a lot. They had a lot of similar interests, making everything they talk about seem to go together so well. In about 20 minutes, they reached the school and went to class.

"Hush, children, hush!" shushed the science teacher. She was a tall woman with brown hair that was tied to a bun in the back of her head, and she was wearing a red suit and black heels. "Who knows anything about what fiber is for? Anyone?" She looked around the class with her cat-eyes, which fell upon Luki, "You, Luki," she demanded.

Luki looked up lazily from his notebook, and answered almost directly, "Fiber is used to increase the contraction in intestines and increase the effectiveness of nutrients absorption," The teacher looked bored. "Excellent," she complimented, and all eyes turned to Luki. He doesn't seem to notice because his head was lowered to his notebook. He didn't want to attract any attention; he was only doing what he was told to.

"You should have seen the look on Ms. Meiko's face, it was like you were always the one answering her questions," Luka stated curiously.

"Hm, you knew the answer to that too right, Luka," Luki said, knowing that she really did

"Yeah, but she picked you,"

"Never mind. Where do you wanna have lunch?"

Luka craned her neck for a better look in the crowded cafeteria. Luki called out and gestured towards a table in the edge, holding his food tray. They walked to the empty table, sat, and sighed.

"What's for 5th period?" Luka asked, raising her voice

"Musics," Luki answered.

After that, they didn't have a lot of chance to talk. The cafeteria was so crowded and noisy, and 15 minutes before lunch ended, they had some sort of instant understanding that they _had_ to get out of there.

Luka sat beside Luki with her new music book. The teacher was Mr. Al, who was a tall, handsome man with black hair. "I need someone to play the Moonlight Sonata Op. Seventy two for me," he asked for volunteers around the class. "What about the new girl?" he smiled mischievously, "Come have a seat on the piano and show us what you've got," Luka's heart skipped a beat. _Can't do anything about it,_ she thought. Taking a deep breath she walked forward and sat down. She opened her book, searching for the Sonata, then Mr. Alpiped up, "Page 53," he told her. Luka blushed and opened the page. She gripped her hands and released it thrice, rubbed them together, then placed them on the piano. Then she played the piece. First page, second, third and on and on until the end, finished in seven minutes, the exact duration of the song. She looked at the class, whose jaws practically dropped open. Her eyes widened. She glanced at Mr. Al who was laughing aloud, saying, "Luki! You've got competition!"

"What's with 'Luki you've got competition'?" Luka quoted with her peach-polished hands.

"Oh, it's just this stuff, Mr. Al assumes that I'm his favorite student, and maybe you just became one too," Luki whispered, keeping an eye on Mr. Haku who kept pacing back and forth, teaching the class about note intervals.

Luka nodded. She'd never thought she would attract attention this quickly. She hates too much attention. She flipped her book open and pulled out her schedule. It was P.E next. She felt the familiar stir in her stomach when she gets excited. P.E was one subject she could go all out on. She nudged Luki with her elbow and asked what was for P.E. He said it was gymnastics. "Yess!" she hissed giddily, pumping her fist quietly. Mr. Haku twitched at her direction and she cleared her throat. Luki smirked and Luka grinned.

Luka managed to jump and glide to the door a mili-second before the bell rang and ran out exactly as the bell rang. She grabbed her sports bag from her yellow locker and slammed it shut. Running towards the gymnasium, she grinned ear to ear. And the moment she realized Luki was beside him, he was grinning to. "Race ya there!" then they ran all the way to the gym, ignoring a teacher who shouted, "No running in the corridors!" and cracked up.

Luka had her blue shorts and white t-shirt for P.E. Her hair was tied to a looped ponytail and she was stretching her hands and legs. "I need a pair up here!" The P.E teacher, Coach Teto shouted from the balancing beams. Luki looked at Luka and both nodded. They trotted side to side towards their coach. "Okay, Luka and Luki. Newcomer eh?" she winked at Luka. She was practically beaming. "I want you two to do hand stands on these," she instructed, pointing the balancing beams in front of him with his black pen. Luka jumped from the ground and landed on the beams with her hands, feet thrusting upwards. She peeked at Luki, who even did a somersault before landing. _Impressive, _she flashed an amused smile at him. He grinned his perfect teeth. "Now split the legs, and maintain for 15 seconds!" Coach Teto shouted from her chair. Luki and Luka did what he told. 15 seconds passed and their coach gave them a thumbs up, scribbling down an 'A' on her scoring board with her other free hand. So Luki bended his hands, storing energy and sprang upwards, upside down then turning to land perfectly on both feet. While Luka twisted her split legs and laid her stomach on the beam then kicked with her right foot, and back flipped in the air then landed perfectly on both feet, just as Luki did. "Favorite subject," they said in unison and chuckled.


	4. Chapter 4

"No, my house's small. You'll feel uncomfortable in there. And my mom….." Luki scratched the back of his head.

"Whatever Luki, I'm going to your house whether you want it or not. _You_'ve been to my house anyway. Its called 'visiting'" Luka singsonged.

Luki sighed. "Can't do anything about you," he smirked. Luka grinned. She called home from her white iPhone and got an okay from Gakupo, though it took 15 minutes to assure him she was just going to Luki's house. "Gakupo you are _so_ stubborn." She muttered to the phone, as if Gakupo were on it.

"Mom! I'm homee!" Luki called out, just as he used to. He told Luka to take off her shoes and put it on the rack behind the front door. He walked over to the kitchen where Pepperoni jumped on his chest and knocked him over. Luki never looked happier. Luka smiled at the sight. Pepperoni then let Luki stand, and she sniffed on Luka. "Hey girl," Luka kneeled and ruffled her ears. Pepperoni wagged her tail and barked happily. "She likes you already," Luki said, impressed. "Eh, I like him too," Luka giggled when Pepperoni started licking her.

They walked to Luki's mom who asked, "Did you get Pepperoni a new ball, Luki?" then turned around and saw Luka. "Now, who is this, Luki?" she asked, an amused smile on her lips.

"Mom, meet Luka Megurine, my classmate," Luki introduced.

"Hello," Luka smiled at Luki's mom who kept the smile on her face.

"She's not, by any chance, your gi-" Luki's mom started, which got cut off by Luki's loud groan from the table.

"Oops," his mom put her hands on her mouth. "Hello, Luka. I'm Luki's mom, Lily, glad to have you here. And by the way, you're beautiful, sweetie," she patted her cheek softly and helped Luki set the table.

Luka smiled. _What a nice family,_ she thought. Hearing someone come down the stairs and towards the kitchen, she stepped aside, letting the person pass, which looked like a tall, brown-haired guy wearing torn jeans, with his hands in his pockets. He, was shirtless. Luka lowered her head, blushing, pretending to pet Pepperoni who happily rolled over. Hey, a shirtless guy wasn't something she sees everyday.

"Pasta?" The tall guy smiled and sat on the edge of the table.

"Akaito, why don't you ever wear your clothes after you wake up?" Luki's mom scolded.

The tall guy groaned (which sounded so identical to Luki's) and pushed himself off the table, then walked out the kitchen. When he saw Luka, his eyes narrowed, and all of a sudden, he threw a high-kick at her. Luka didn't even flinch; she lowered her body and tripped him, sliding her leg outward, which failed because he jumped up, trying to drop-kick her from above. Pepperoni, staring from under the dining table, whimpered. _Looks like he doesn't like fights, _Luka thought.

Hearing Akaito's leg swish, Luka didn't need to look up. She just smiled and jumped up too then flipped backwards, letting her legs kick which counterattacked Akaito's. He got hit then, and smiled too. Landing on his feet, he shook his hair to one said (which fell right back to place) and smirked as he introduced himself. "Akaito, Luki's brother." He stretched out his hand, waiting for Luka to shake it.

"Luka, Luki's fri-" Luka got cut off when Akaito took her hand and tugged it hard, trying to lock it behind her back. Luka giggled, showing obvious delight, and then she twisted her hand, gripped Akaito's, and slammed him down, still gently, trying not to make any damage.

"Luka, Luki's friend," she smiled at the upside down Akaito.

He looked dumbstruck. _I've never met anyone like her, no one has ever been able to drop me like this except for, well, Luki,_ he thought. Then ALuki stood up, smirked again at Luka, showing her his acknowledgement, and went upstairs. Luka turned towards the table, and saw that the table was ready for dinner.

"You want to join us for dinner, Luka?" Luki's mom offered.

"Uh, n-no, I wouldn't want to-" Luka got cut off because Luki just grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the table. "L-Lu-" she turned left and right trying to argue with Luki who sat her from the left and walked to the right. He sat down with her mom and Ian who just came down and started praying. Luka followed as well, knowing that when Luki decided to do something, he just won't budge.

During the meal, Luka fitted right in the conversation. Lily's tone always sounded welcoming, as if beckoning her to join in. She smiled her kind smile frequently towards her, and her pasta. It was delicious. Not richly delicious, but eating it, she felt a mother's love making the food for her beloved children. Everything in it felt good, and just the right amount.

Right after the meal, when Luka was helping Luki's mom clear the dishes, her iPhone rang. Luka glanced at it, showing the text 'Home' then abruptly stopped washing the plates and said, "Ooh, sorry, I have to take this," walking away from the table, and mouthed '_Gakupo'_ to Luki. He said "Ah," and pointed at his watch. It was eleven-thirty for God's sake! She pressed the 'Answer' button and quietly said, "Hello?"

"Madame Luka! How could you stay this late outside the house? What would Sir Megurine think? And more of it, in a male's house!-"

"-Boy, Gakupo-"

"That is most inappropriate for a lady! How worried did you think I got since the last 3 hours?-"

Gakupo' shouting continued for 10 minutes, while Luka kept the phone at least 5 cm away from her ears, staying away from the loud shouting. Then, when all the noise died down, she spoke to the phone, "Have you calmed down, Gakupo?"

"Yes, milady, I'm sorry for my behavior,"

"Well never mind, I am very used to that, Gakupo, and, first of all, I had dinner already, and I apologize for losing track of time, I met Lily, she treated me like her own daughter, she was kind, and she told me I was beautiful, just like mother always-" Luka stopped speaking, her eyes burning. She wondered why and rubbed them, then continued, "I think I will be staying here for the night. It is very late, Gakupo. Is that okay?" she asked. Gakupo considered for a minute and said, "Okay," though Luka could hear a heavy that-is-not-okay in his voice.

She tapped 'End Call' and came back in the kitchen, which was tidy. "I'm really sorry I didn't get to help," she rushed over to Mrs Lily then asked, "I'm sorry, Mrs-"

"Just Lily, please," she smiled earnestly.

"Okay, Lily, can I stay for the night?"

"Oh sure you can, sweetie. Only if you don't mind sleeping with me. We don't have a lot of rooms in ol' Cherry here," she tapped the house's walls, as if she was talking to the house.

"That's very fine, Lily, thank you so much!" Luka said.

After rummaging around her drawers and cupboard, Lilia offered her a knee-length white sequined dress for tomorrow. "This is about your size," she said after she looked in her drawer for clothes.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Luka exclaimed, consciously touching the sequined and beaded bodice.

Lily had set up a sleeping bag on the floor near her bed for Luka to sleep. The room was cozy, with pastel green walls, a cupboard, a cosmetic table and a simple bed. Luka heard Pepperoni scratch on the door, and gestured towards it. "May I?" she asked, pointing towards the door. Lily smiled her mother-ish smile and nodded. Luka felt warm all over then opened the door for Pepperoni who trotted in and walked in a circle three times before plopping down on her stomach and looked at Luka and Lily who chuckled.

Luka changed to the cloud-printed pajamas Lily gave her and snuggled in her sleeping bag. She stared at the ceiling absently. A small table lamp beside Lily's head lighted the room. In no more than 5 minutes, she started dozing off. She murmured a 'good night' to Lily and fell asleep.

At the same time, Luki who shared a room with Akaito, was pillow fighting. Akaito tried to smack him with his pillow but he jumped out of the way and landed behind Akaito then swung his pillow. Missing it by inches, Akaito crouched and spun around twice, swishing about with his pillow, trying to hit Luki on the stomach. That didn't work anyway, Luki easily leaped back, and to the right and to the left dodging his brother's swishes. With a startling leap, he flumped his pillow on Akaito's head, making him tumble to the floor. They cracked up and Akaito suddenly asked, "Luki! The girl with you, what's her name?"

"Luka,"

"Luka hm. I've taken quite an interest in her,"

"Really," Luki glanced at his brother, who smiled curiously.

Luka went down the stairs, wearing the clothes Lilia gave to her last night.

"You can have this, I'm not a teenager anymore," she laughed.

Luka decided to braid the sides of her hair and tie it back loosely, letting the rest of it flow behind her back. Then, on the stairs, she heard thuds from above. It was Akaito, who suddenly kissed her playfully on her cheek.

"Mornin', beauty," he greeted.

Luka touched her cheek and blushed so hard, her face turning hot.

"OI!" Luki cried from above.

Akaito cackled, evil-genius style.

"Really sorry, Lu, stupid brother," Luki walked side to side with her. Luka just stayed quiet. "First cheek-kiss huh?" Luki saw right through her. She nodded timidly, blushing even harder, and Luki, trying to change the subject, complimented, "And by the way, you look really good in the dress," Luka beamed at him and said, "It was your mother's,"

School was the usual, Luki answering questions, Luka answering questions, and on the way home, Luka saw Akaito waving from the school gate, with lots of girls around him, blushing and flirting. Luki rolled his eyes, and when he saw ahead, Akaito was running towards Luka. Luka glanced at him, practically saying "Help!" but before Luki could do anything, Akaito got between him and Luka, and put his left arm around her shoulders. "We're having chicken a la king today! Want to come over?" he offered.

"Sorry, Ga- uhh I shouldn't. I would if I can though, but my-" Luka stuttered, not sure what to call Gakupo.

"-cousin," Luki helped

"Right! Cousin, Gakupo would get worried, since I stayed at your house last night. Right. Okay, Luki, see you tomorrow! And Akaito, thanks,"

Luki smiled at her and nodded nicely while Akaito took no effort in hiding his disappointment, groaning out loud. Luki wanted to punch his stomach so bad, but it would turn into a fight, so he ignored him and walked away. "Luki, wait up!" Akaito flailed his hands. The gate was full of "Luki! Introduce me to your brother!" "Luki, that's your brother?" "Luki!" _This is attracting too much attention,_ Luki thought, wincing and grimacing at every girl he saw, failing to smile. He ran forwards, and went home, leaving his brother behind with the girls.

Luka got home by four. She went in and called out politely, "I'm home," gently putting her bag on one of the maid's hand that always took her bag for her. Gakupo was waiting for her on the door. He escorted her to her room, where he smiled again and again; apparently glad to have her home.

She sat on her bed, and decided to play her third favorite instrument, after the harp and the piano. She zipped it open and took it out. It was her custom-made violin. Beautiful melody came out from her gentle strokes on the strings. Though, the song stopped in the middle. Luka mumbled to herself, "I could play this forever," and stuck it in the case before she could play it and lose track of time.

She took her iPhone from her bag and unlocked the screen. There was a text from Akaito, saying "_Lukaaaaa come over again!" _

Luka wondered, _Now where did he get my cell number again?_ Then another text came in, it was from Luki. It said, "_Sorry, Lu. That obnoxious brother of mine took my cell and stole your number. That thief." _

Luka giggled and replied, "_It's fine. He didn't bother me or anything,_" and tucked her phone back to her bag.

On her way downstairs, she saw a green letter under the phone. She pulled it and plucked the seal open. Inside was an orange letter written in a child's writing, saying;

Dear Luka

When are you coming over? We've missed you so much, Come on visit! We'll be waiting!

With Love,

Megville Orphanage

Luka squealed in excitement. With no hesitation, she immediately decided to visit the orphanage from school tomorrow. _Maybe I should ask Luki to come,_ she thought. She grinned and went to supper, then went to bed, impatiently waiting for tomorrow to come.


	5. Chapter 5

"Luki! Luki Luki Luki Luki Luki!" Luka was practically skipping along the corridors, over from her locker to Luki's.

"Happy, aren't you. What's up?" Luki smiled curiously.

"The orphanage sent me a letter yester- oh, have I told you about the orphanage?"

"Orphanage? No, not yet,"

"Oh, it's called The Megville Orphanage, it was a little orphanage I- I mean, my father built for the children on and around the Maple Street neighborhood with no home."

"I see, what about it?"

"The children sent me a letter," Luka said, smiling, "They said that they want to see me,"

"And?"

"Would you like to come?"

Luki thought about this for a second, and then asked, "Is it okay? I mean, they only asked for you and all," though he was actually really happy, because he never went to an orphanage and mostly, he loved children.

"Eh, it's fine. Meet me in front of my house okay?"

Luki and Luka parted ways in front of the gate, Luka mouthed '_4 PM' _and Luki okay-ed her.

At exactly 4 PM, Luki came over to the gate, and Luka had already stood in front of it, holding two large duffel bags. She wore a long sleeved yellow blouse and brown jeans.

"What's with the bags?" Luki asked, "It looks reeeeeally heavy,"

"It's a little present for the children, they always love presents," Luka gestured towards the bags with a shrug.

"Oh, I should help you, here let me take that one,"

Luki took the heavier bag, and walked with Luka. Luka explained that the presents were nothing much, just a few clothes, books, pencil cases, moneyboxes, dolls, blankets, hats, shoes, and a few toys. Luki laughed, knowing exactly that Luka said all that without any purpose to brag.

She stared at him and swished a kick at him, which he dodged easily, and asked, "What was that for?"

"Nothing," Luka giggled.

The Megville Orphanage was a huge, colorful building, red over there, green over here, blue over there, yellow here, purple right there, and many colors. Luki saw that, and felt that the place was such a cheerful orphanage. Luka rang the doorbell, once. Almost immediately, hundreds of little running feet can be heard from the other side of the door. "You should get away from the door, Luka," Luki said, worried.

"It's fine," she smiled, practically waiting for the children to run over her.

"LUKA!" the door slammed open, and a 'horde' of kids came tackling Luka down.

Luki thought that she would just jump and flip away, but he guessed that she wants to be hugged like that. And turns out, he was right. Luka fell to the ground and laughed out loud, calling every name of the children, Bertha, James, Lily, Tom, Walter, April, Samantha, Devon, Valerie, lots more, asking them how they were doing. Then a little kid who looked like she was 6, tugged at Luki's jacket and asked, a blank look on her face, "Luka sis, is he your boyfriend?" then the children broke to ooh-s and aww-s. Then Luka stood, shook her head, and said, "Everyone, meet Luki, my _friend_," she gestured towards Luki and Luki waved, "Hey," The children, once more, broke into 'you're lying, Luka'-s and 'don't be shy!'-s. _Innocent kids can be dangerous, _Luki thought, and Luka, as if reading his mind, answered, "Exactly,"

Then an old woman came out of the doors and said, "Now, now, children," and the children made a line at once. "Hello, Miki. Long time no see," Luka said and gave the woman a hug. "Ah, Luka. You've grown so big," The woman wore a purple dress, with yellow flowers printed on it. Her face was covered in wrinkles, but a certain kindness came out of her warm, blue eyes, that made Luki and Luka feel like, well, like they were home.

_Why was I disappointed when she said I was only her friend? _A thought flashed in Luki's mind.

The inside of Megville Orphanage was as cheerful as it looks from the outside. The walls were white, but the doors, the carpet, the curtains were all colorful. Not the confusing kind of colorful, it was the kind of colorful that makes you happy. Luki leaned toward Luka, and asked, "These your idea?"

"Yeah, I thought it would make the children happy," Luka tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You think it's too much?"

"No, it's perfect," Luki regarded.

The rooms turned out to be bedrooms for 3. The boys' doors were blue, green, red, and well, you know, boy colors. The girls' doors were pink, yellow, orange, and etcetera. The floors have polka dots everywhere, even some are arranged to play Twister! Luki felt an itch to challenge Luka to a game, and Luka, once again, as if reading his mind, said, "Want a game of Twister?"

The two jumped to the Twister dots. Luka got the first turn, and put her right foot in a blue dot. Luki put his on a green one at the end. Then, Luka's left foot ended on a red one beside her. "I'm feelin lucky!" she singsonged, teasing Luki, whose left foot ended in a yellow dot, two dots under Luka. He took it easily though, because it wasn't that hard, but not easier than Luka's. She giggled when her hands ended up behind her. Luki's hands ended up in front of him, directly beside Luka's left flank. The children gaped at them, seeing that they were laughing though the dots ended up in really hard spots. Finally, after an hour of difficulty, the two collapsed on top of each other, cracking up.

Granny Miki prepared glasses of orange juice. And when she set down the glasses, she announced, "The apple pie is almost ready!" the scent of the pie drifted to the hall, and the children ran to the kitchen. Luka and Luki trotted after them, peeking at the oven, containing 5 platters of apple pie. "Mmm, that smells good!" Luki exclaimed. "Wait until you taste it," Luka muttered.

The pies were divided carefully for all the children, plus Luki and Luka. They got larger pieces, and also got millions of protests from the children. Luka ate first, and her eyes closed, enjoying the delicious taste of the apple pie. Luki wondered how good it tasted, so he cut some using his fork and put it into his mouth. The crust was perfectly baked, not too fragile, and not too hard. The apple filling was coated in cinnamon, and both the taste of apple and cinnamon can be tasted equally.

It was delicious.

Luki unconsciously muttered mmm-s and ooh-s while eating the pie. Luka grinned at how silly he looked. "Fee how food it tavtes now?"— She means 'See how good it tastes now?' and Luki laughed.

He looked at Luka, and said, "You've got some crust over there," he leaned over towards Luka and brushed some crust from her lips with his thumb.

Whoa.

Luki jerked his hand back and apologized. Luka nodded and turned back to her pie, consciously touching her lip where Luki's hand touched her

Unnoticed, a thought crossed Luka's mind, and just like a twin, one did too in Luki's mind.

_Why did I want that moment to last a little longer?_


	6. Chapter 6

Next week was the exam week. The moment the two knew, they rolled their eyes and groaned. Exam week means a hell lot of studying to do. Then Luki piped up, "Luka, what do you say we study together?"

Luka, liking the idea, immediately said yes, and they both agreed that they would study in Luka's house, starting from nine to three. That would cover _all_ of the subjects, including history and biology and physics and math.

She went home, and prepared stuff for tomorrow. She told Gakupo about Luki coming over, and he ordered the other butlers and maids to prepare the study for her. They set down piles of books for her to study on a mahogany table at the middle of the room, the chairs cushioned with velvet pillows.

The preparation was done at eight. Luka talked to her chef that she asked for help on cooking some little snacks and for lunch. The chef nodded and when Luka took an apron from the hanger, he smiled, shook his head and said, "You're not serious are you, Madame?" Luka smiled. She never wants anything, she never orders anything, she always used please and thank you.

"Fine, at least let me handle the snacks," Luka opened the cupboards, her chef knowing that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"As you wish," he grinned, sorting the recipes for tomorrow.

After entrusting tomorrow's lunch to her chef, Luka went up to her room. She unlocked her iPhone screen and saw that there were two messages. It was from Luki and a boutique she built on Maple Street, almost beside the Orphanage. The one from Luki asked whether he needed to bring books for tomorrow, and Luka answered no, there are books already for them. Then the one from the boutique named Orchidia asked whether Luka wanted new dresses or blouses for her. She liked the manager of the boutique, a woman named Sweet Ann, very much. She speaks French and loved to make new clothes for her. She wanted a flower-patterned blouse, and replied that she would design a blouse and give it to her to sew. The design, she would draw tomorrow while studying and give it to Ann at 4, perhaps with Luki. She put her iPhone on her dressing table and pulled her blanket up her shoulder, then fell asleep.

The next morning, she woke up at seven, bathed and changed and checked and rechecked and re-rechecked all the things. Finishing at eight, she went to the dining room to eat. Her absolute favorite lasagna was set on the table. She glanced towards the chef and he winked. Luka giggled and sat down politely, then ate. She was really bored after that, so she sat behind her harp and tinkled mellow songs a few times and stood up, then sat at her study.

The bell dinged and Luka practically jumped from her piano seat. The butlers were already getting the door, and it seems as if Luki came in earlier.

"Luka!" Luki waved

Luka smiled, and gestured towards the stairs. Her kitten heeled white mules clicked on the floor, and as they reached her study, Luka thanked all the butlers and closed the door behind her.

"Whoa," Luki said, looking at the already neatly stacked books in front of him. "Good choice I didn't bring books,"

Luka giggled and sat down, telling Luki to sit across her. "Hm, let's start off with the easiest one. Math?" she took out two books from the stack of books, each entitled "Mathematics". They were both as thick as 700 pages each. Even Luki seemed troubled by the thickness of the books, although Luka didn't seem the least bit. "What?" she asked, catching Luki's stare.

"No, it just seems that this," Luki pointed at his book, "Is considered light reading to you,"

"Well, uhh," Luka fiddled with the edge of her book's page, and excused herself from the room.

Luki stared after the door confusedly, waiting for Luka to come back to the study. Not long, she did.

Luka closed the door with her back and dropped what she took on the table. It was her etiquette book, the one with two-thousand pages she always read.

"Y-you read that?" Luki moved back.

"Yeah, pretty much," Luka smiled, taking Luki's hand and putting it on her book.

Luki chuckled nervously and pulled the book towards him, opening it with a loud thud. He shuddered as he went through some of the pages. "Whew," he blew, "You must be kidding when you said it wasn't tiring," He glanced at Luka. "You need manners around people from your, uh, level, you need manners around everything you do, even around your parents,"

At the mention of her parents, Luka's head drooped, her hands clenching her dress for no more than a second. "My favorite one is getting to wear a dress all the time," She looked up, already smiling as brightly as before. "And the heels too, makes me more balanced," Her hands flipped the page and showed the page with her favorite etiquette written on it, tapping it with her finger.

Luki, who actually noticed, pretended not to. He tilted his head, "And the one you hate the most?" Then held up his hand, "Let me guess, the table manners?"

Luka giggled, "Yeah, those ones make me feel uncomfortable when eating, and although the food is really good, I can't seem to enjoy it very much,"

The moment she finished, there was a knock at the door. "Madame? I've brought you and your friend some light meals," Gakupo's muffled voice said. Luka stood from the floor and went over to the door to take the tray from Gakupo. "Madame, let me bring it in, at least," he said, "You've made them, so let me bring them in, with all due respect,"

Luka smiled, and sighed. "Alright, set them down on the balcony table, Gakupo," she gestured to the ceiling-to-floor sliding glass that led to the balcony of the study.

Luki took the chance to look around the study. The walls were lined with tall bookshelves, and another two in front of them, each as tall. On top of their study table was a beautiful crystal chandelier. Every corner of the study was where marble pillars stood. The shelves, the table, and the rim of the windows were all made of mahogany, polished into perfection. His chair was of the same wood, and cushioned with velvet pillows. _No wonder it was so soft and comfortable_ Luki thought.

"Madame, what is your friend doing with the etiquette book?" Gakupo whispered to Luka.

"Oh, he's just looking at it, actually, I was showing him," Luka flapped her hand ignorantly.

Gakupo bowed to her and to Luki then exited the room quietly.

"We'll study for half an hour then have the snacks, Luki," Luka suggested, although it sounded more of a strict rule she set to their studies. "If we study more than that, the snacks will go stale," Her hands started opening the math book and her notes.

Luki nodded and followed her example. They did every exercise swiftly, asking one another little questions on what they weren't sure of. They were done in exactly twenty-five minutes. Luka handed her exercise to Luki and Luki to her, each checking the other's work. No mistakes were done, no miscalculations whatsoever. Luka grinned at Luki then at his exercise. They set down their pens and notes, then walked over to the balcony, Luki opening the door for Luka.

"Thank you," she nodded at him and sat at one of the metal chairs, her elbows on the table.

"Luka, elbows," Luki pointed at her when he sat.

"Did you read that in the book?" Luka pulled her elbows down.

"Yeah, I happen to come across it before, and remembered it when I saw your elbows, although it isn't really necessary to be all polite in front of me,"

Luka smiled and plucked one of the hazelnut cookies she made. She saw Luki take the plain vanilla one, popping it in his mouth.

His eyes brightened in a second and he took another two. "These are delicious!" He lifted them up towards Luka. "You made these?"

"Yeah, old recipe, also my personal favorite. These," She waved her hazelnut cookies in front of her mouth, "Come second," Her fingers pushed the cookie into her mouth, and her mouth chewing noiselessly.

Luki tried each of the different kinds of cookies, coming up with a different impression on each. There were cupcakes and little sandwiches, very scrumptious, with perfect measurements in each.

"Made these yourself eh?" Luki swallowed his last sandwich.

Luka nodded, consciously nibbling on her cupcake. She would feel that way whenever someone praised her efforts. Although Luki didn't do it directly, she heard his voice bubbling with compliments, and she knew that he knew that she would feel self-conscious so he didn't do it directly.

"Come, let's start with history," Luka opened the door and jumped in.

History was one subject they both hated, but still excellent at. Their faces showed their laziness whenever they need to come over a new chapter and subject. The book was done in forty-five minutes, both of them sighing contentedly and stretching in their seats.

The study covered each and every subject that was going to be in the tests, even more than that. They finished at half past two, going ahead of their actual target of finishing at three.

"Hey Luka," Luki started.

"Let me guess, you want to see the books," Luka smiled at him.

"How did you know?"

"I happen to see your eyes linger over a few of them,"

"Sorry," Luki scratched the back of his head.

"No, no, it's fine. Although, you have to know that these are the 'study' books,"

"You mean, you have more?" Luki practically jumped out of his seat.

"Yeah," Luka laughed and took his hand, "Let's go," She pulled him out of the room and entered another at the end of the corridor. She realized she was holding his hand and quickly let go, using 'opening the door' as an excuse to herself. Luki did seem to notice but no more than two seconds, because his eyes twinkled and his mouth fell agape when he saw the interior of the room Luka opened.

"This, Luki, is my library," Luka smiled and pushed him into the room, closing the door behind her.

"No wonder the door was so far," Luki touched the wall, supporting him from the shock and wonder. The library was more than humongous. There were three more floors above him, which he can see because they were not more than just corridors of floor stuck to the wall, making an outline in the wall, without a center. Every one of them with long shelves filled completely with books. A chandelier that lighted up the room brightly hung in its center, coming across the third floor, stopping just at the second. Every floor had several patches of tables and chairs, beautifully carved with golden.

"My reaction was exactly like you when I saw this room. Even to this day I haven't read all of them yet," Luka's fingers glided over the book's bindings, her clicking heels the only sound that filled the room.

Luki's wonder didn't stop at the amount of books. It continued to the perfect organizing of the books, with alphabets, languages, genres. Every floor had a searching system near the stairs, to browse books of various titles and authors. The system was a screen and keyboard, both sensitive to touch, perfectly level with the eyes and elbows, with no flaws or whatever that blocked or made the system imperfect. Luki had to clamp his hands over his mouth to stop him from shouting in excitement. He walked around the first floor, scanning the books, as well as the ones on the second to the fourth. Running around soundlessly, climbing the stairs on the tall bookshelves, here and there. He finally went over to where Luka was sitting, a table just beside the giant window that went from the top to the bottom of the library on the second floor. On both of his palms were stacks of books, about fifteen on each, which should be quite a weight on his arms, but not at all, Luki did not even strain. Luka, who was reading her book with one hand, the other on her stomach and her legs crossed, snapped her book shut and took one of the stack from Luki. She helped him set them down on the table although he didn't need any help at all.

"I took way less with me at first, " Luka crossed her arms on her chest. "The tiredness from designing the carvings and programming the system probably overwhelmed me," Her voice faltered, afraid that Luki would think her as a show-off.

"You designed these and programmed that?" Luki pointed to the table carvings and then to the far system stuck at the wall. "There really is no end to my wonder here," He chuckled and shook his head.


	7. Chapter 7

As their study session finished, Luka opened her closet and changed into her white, lacy, knee-length dress and came out with her hair in a pretty loose braid sitting on her shoulder. She tapped Luki's shoulder, who was daydreaming, "Luki! Do you want to accompany me somewhere?"

Luki perked up, and asked, "Where?"

"Just, somewhere," Luka grinned.

"Okay," Luki went with her, although he wasn't exactly assured of where they were going to.

They walked down the pavement, made a few turns and in five minutes, reached their destination. Luki saw that it was a small block of house, its walls painted in violet paint with beautiful vintage patterns of gold added onto it. The sign above the door said, "_Orchidia"_, written nicely in gold, perfectly looped writing. He trotted behind Luka who was skipping towards the door. Luka herself pushed the door open, making the bell that hung above her ring prettily. "Ann!" she stretched out her hands before a pretty blue-eyed woman whose hair bounced on her shoulders in ringlets.

"Ah! _Mademoiselle_ Luka! _Bonjour, mon cher_!" The woman Luka called Ann embraced Luka happily, a wide smile decorating her face.

"_Bonjour_," Luka replied. She pulled Luki closer and gestured towards him, "Ann, _tel est mon ami, _Luki,"

Ann pondered over Luki's face and smiled. "_Bonjour, _Luki,"

"_Bonjour, madame,"_ Luki bobbed his head downwards.

Ann's eyes widened, and her lips spread into an even wider smile. She clapped her hands together, clearly delighted to see someone speak her native-language. "So, _vat_ can I do for you, _mademoiselle?_" She walked over behind her counter desk and asked Luka.

"Aah, I have these designs," Luka pulled out three pieces of paper from her bag, "But I can't decide which to choose," she tapped her chin.

The first design was an empire-styled dress, cut just above the knees, its bottom part of beautifully lapped loose fabric with uneven folds, the waist decorated with chains of trinkets, looping attractively, and the top part of the same fabric character as the bottom, falling perfectly on one shoulder. The design was colored broken white, the trinkets golden.

The second was a dark blue tent dress, the sleeves wider at the end, stopping at the elbows, its edges shaped like lace, with little decorative holes. The dress itself was printed with purple flowers, full in the shoulders and in the hemline, few at the rest of the dress. Beside the dress design was a belt, a white belt that was drawn with an arrow pointed at the dress, just below the chest. "Additional accessory, Ann. I have it at home," Luka pointed out.

The last one was another dress, the basic fabric colored gleaming red. It didn't have any straps to the shoulders, it stopped above the chest, and behind the red fabric were pieces of crumpled, black chiffon, sewn to the fabric evenly. The rest of the dress' bodice was decorated with also black chiffon, but shaped into roses that ran across the stomach and stopping at the back's bottom, letting out two pieces of chiffon that hovered behind the legs.

"I can _zee vhy eet eez 'ard _for you to _peeck_ between _zeese_," Ann pondered over the designs, "_Zey _are all _beeyuziful!"_ she added, patting Luka's hand.

"You flatter me too much, Ann," Luka smiled sweetly and squeezed Ann's hand back.

Luki, who was peeking from Luka's shoulder all along said, "It's really various, Luka, from the first to the last, nothing is the least bit identical," he complimented.

Luka slapped his shoulder. He knew she didn't know what to say if she were to be complimented, so he just laughed it off.

"Vhy don't I _juzt_ make _zem _all?" Ann suddenly said, lifting up the designs, showing them back to Luka.

"No, no no no, no way," Luka strode up to her and pulled the designs away.

"Ah, you make too much of a fuss," Ann grabbed them back and stashed it in her drawer. "Your payment _eez zeese _designs, _eet eez _enough," she flapped her hands.

"You do this kind of thing too much, Ann!" Luka threw her hands up and started walking around in circles. "….And in the end you wouldn't want me to pay, and you break it down to me _after _you send me the clothes!" she stomped hard.

"Luka, relax. Just think of it as another favor," Luki held her shoulders and nodded towards Ann.

"Oh alright, fine. I _vill_ _azk _you to pay, _vut_ only half _ze_ price," Ann gave in, pouting.

Luka's eyes immediately brightened and she trotted out the door, "I'll give you the money this afternoon, Ann! _Merci beaucoup!"_ she waved and closed the door, not conscious of leaving Luki behind.

"And you? Young _monsieur?_ Do you '_ave _something you need?" Ann interlaced her fingers on the table and looked at Luki.

"Ah, yes," Luki shook his head, breaking off his stare towards the exiting figure of Luka. "I have this," he pulled out a piece of paper from inside his jacket.

"Oh?" Ann took it and she gasped in shock. "Y-you, drew _zees?_" she looked back and forth, from Luki then to the design.

"I-I only made it yesterday, it's a bit choppy but-"

"N-Non! _Zees, eet eez beeyuziful! Parfaite! _Even _Madamoiselle Luka_ _vould _be very impressed! _Zees _kind of dress _vouldn't _even come to 'er mind!" Ann took her glasses and put them on, tracing the lines in the paper Luki gave her with her fingernails.

"Well, I really want you to make it, Luka's birthday is coming soon-"

"And she _doez _not even realize _eet. Yez, I _understand," Ann stashed it into her drawer as well after sticking a note on it. She winked at Luki and gave him two thumbs up.

"_Merci, madame! _I will pay full price for it!" Luki waved and walked out the door with the tinkling of the bell.

Luki ran up the pavement, back the way he went with Luka and met her halfway.

"Sorry, Luki, didn't realize you were left behind," Luka walked over to him, smiling apologetically.

"It's fine, it's fine. It's almost 6, I have to get going, Luka, I'll walk you home," Luki knocked Luka's head and tapped his watch.

"Your house is the other way right? You don't have to, just go home, Luki," Luka stopped and spun Luki around.

Luki just sighed and walked towards Luka's house with her. Luka smiled, and went with him, stopping at her front gate.

"Thanks, Luki," she said through the little gap between her gate, Gakupo beside her with his inscrutable face. "We should do this more often," Luka winked and the gate was closed.

Luki's smile did not leave his face till he got home. He went through the door and was still all smiley when Akaito tried to throw a chopstick at him, which he caught even without looking.

"Yo. What's with the stupid face?" Akaito tried to flick Luki's head.

"None of your business," Luki dodged quickly and plucked a dumpling from the bowl Akaito was carrying.

"Wai- My last dumpling!" Akaito chased after Luki, up to his room, where he got knocked on the face by the door.

"Oops," Luki said, his voice muffled through the door.

Akaito shouted in frustration and thumped downstairs angrily, Lily's voice softly saying, "I made more, Akaito, stop bullying your brother,"

"But it was hi-" Another shout came from himself.

Luki laughed aloud in his room, flumping on his bed. He checked his phone and got two texts, one from Luka and the other from his favorite restaurant, which considers him as also a favorite regular. The text from Luka was a gratitude one, with a picture attached, her and him beside each other on the twister dots, laughing. '_Wow, she really is cute. Very cute.'_ Luki realized again, looking more into the picture. He realized it quickly though, and pulled his head back, snapping out. The second was from a restaurant called '_Suzume Tanaka_' a Japanese-food restaurant. The name was based on the couple owning the restaurant, it means sparrow in the middle of a rice field. '_She asked me to come with her to the orphanage, I'll ask her to come with me into the restaurant tomorrow then,'_ Luki clicked 'New Message' and texted Luka a message. He quickly got a reply, saying '_I'd be glad to!'_ and he could not sleep a wink that night due to his excitement.


	8. Chapter 8

Luki eventually drifted off last night and was stirred awake by several knocking sounds from the door.

Lily opened Luki's door and stuck her head in, saying, "Luki, your pretty friend is here," she quickly pulled out and walked downstairs.

Luki tossed his blanket open but stayed still. _Pretty friend, pretty friend, _he thought, his mind still not coming together. _Pretty friend!_ He remembered the text last night about asking Luka to come with him to his restaurant. He rolled off the bed and came tumbling down to the floor. Rubbing his head, he bathed and dressed in his fitted, black, long-sleeved shirt, which he tops with a brown jacket. He pulled his jeans up and ruffled his hair a bit, not bothering to comb it and ran downstairs, stopping at the dining room, where he sees Luka. She has her hair braided low over one shoulder and pretty white earrings. She wore, coincidentally, a light brown casual dress that fell down to just a few centimeters above her ankles with a darker brown belt at her waist. The dress was evenly plaited and was buttoned up to her neck. It was sleeveless and thus showed her beautiful, white arms. Her white bag that matched her white, thick-heeled, strapped shoes and her earrings was below the table.

Her eyes noticed Luki and she stood excitedly, "Ah, Luki! You're awake!" She trotted over to him and pondered over his hair. As he was taller than she is, Luka had to lift her arms to fix his messy look. She took out four bobby pins out of her bag and pinned some of Luki's hair to the backs of his ears, making an X at each side of his head. "There. Much better," she crossed her arms and admired her work.

Luki touched the side of his head and grinned. "Yep, much better," and he noticed Lily with a big purple bag she's carefully handling. "Mom, what's that?" he walked over and peeked inside a bag to find out that it's filled with an expensive-looking red purse with a one-sleeved, fitted red dress to match. Not to forget a shoebox with black heels inside, its straps crisscrossing towards the ankle.

"I-it's from Luka. I refused but she-" Lily started but got cut off by Luka.

"I thought it would look really good with Lily. With your beautiful eyes and hair, actually anything would just look perfect on you," she honestly complimented her, lowering her head. "Besides, it's the least I could do after that delicious dinner," her head lifted and she smiled.

"Oh goodness, still about that. Alright then, thank you again for the lovely, lovely gift Luka," Lily caressed the side of Luka's face and went upstairs to hang her new dress, place her bag and set down her shoebox.

Luki, who was grinning happily the whole time took Luka's arm and dragged her outside, shouting, "I'm going out, mom!"

Luka walked awkwardly with her left arm being pulled by Luki. She poked his back and he noticed her discomfort so Luki let her go, saying, "Sorry," and tucked his hands in his pocket. They walked side by side in silence and after a few minutes Luki said, "You know, that dress, the color, it's my mother's favorite. Although she could never afford a color of anything which is that rich, but she loved the bright red that looked simple, but shocking," he explained, "That color comes right after her set of favorite pastel colors," he laughed quietly.

Luka smiled and said, "Well, I really pictured your mother in that. She would look amazingly beautiful. Remember, Luki, when she wears that dress, braid one side of her hair in a way that it reveals her ear. Just let the rest flow down, it's pretty just like that. She must wear the earrings in the bag," her tips flowed out, as she knows that Luki can do hair.

"Noted," he said.

In about fifteen minutes they reached their destination, the "_Suzume Tanaka"_ was a unique, tan, house-like restaurant with sliding screens as the entrance. Luki jumped at the balls of his feet, clearly excited to let Luka see the interiors of the restaurant. He gestured for her to come in, opening the screens for her. And the restaurant immediately became her favourite.

It wasn't large, just perfectly sized for a restaurant. A U-shaped table stuck out of the furthest wall, with its conveyor belt that carried various kinds of _sushi_. The tables around it were very low, as it is styled like the Japanese _tatami_. The floor was made of dark-colored wood and the cushions to sit were red. The ceilings were lined with hanging lamps in paper rectangular prisms that gave the whole restaurant enough lighting but not too much for the eyes. The walls were embedded with windows, styled similarly to the entrance door in such way that people might mistake any window as the entrance.

"It's lovely," Luka managed to say, her eyes taking in everything at once.

Luki grinned at her reaction, which was exactly how he imagined it would be.

"_Irrasshaimase!"_ a couple came out of the curtains on the back of the U-shaped conveyor belt table. They were both black-haired and their eyes creased with lines that indicated that they were people who smiled a lot.

"_Suzume-san! Tanaka-san! Konichiwa! _This, is my friend, Luka_,"_ Luki shook their hands and put his hand on the square of Luka's back, slightly pushing her forwards.

"_Konichiwa,"_ Luka bowed and smiled shyly.

"Aah, a pretty one nee~," the person who seemed to be Suzume-san shouldered Luki, making him grin. She and her husband both shook Luka's hand and gestured for Luka and Luki to sit down.

"Go on and order! It's on the house!" Tanaka-san shouted, arranging their table.

Luki grinned eved wider and rubbed his hands together, taking the menu for himself and Luka.

"Are you sure it's okay? I mean, it's my first time here," Luka's forehead creased with worry.

"Nah, it's fine, they do that to everyone they like," Luki winked, already into the menu.

Luka, still feeling the obligation to pay decided to be quiet and enjoy what's going to be served and talk about it later. Her eyes fell upon the pictures of the chicken _ramen_, which she decided to order, and Luki's fell upon the one of the beef _katsu_ curry, which he also decided to order. They both had Japanese tea for their drinks.

"_Itadakimasu," _Luka and Luki both started digging in.

Meanwhile, Suzume-san and Tanaka-san, who were watching the two started whispering towards each other.

"Nee, don't you think they look good together?"

"Oh sure, sure, look at how their elbows touch, look! Look!"

"And their clothes match, oh, I love Luka's hair, really,"

A few of the restaurant's staff peeked from the kitchen.

"Hey, it's Luki!"

"They look good together, right?"

"Enough, enough, they're done, they're done, pretend we weren't staring!"

Just as the staff noisily returned to the kitchen, Luki shouted.

"Suzume-san, Tanaka-san, we're done!"

Luka politely finished her drink and wiped her lips with a napkin. She bowed her thanks and stood up as Luki did, walking towards the cashier. Without saying anything, Luka took out her wallet and snapped it's cover open just to be closed back by Luki.

"Nope, it's on the house," Suzume and Tanaka said in unison.

Luka's face flushed and she and Luki once more bowed their thanks and exited the restaurant, the sun already setting at the west sky, signaling the end of their day.

"Um, Luki, thank you, really. It meant a lot to me," Luka smiled with a tilt of her head towards Luki.

"It's no problem, Luka," He scratched the back of his head, returning her smile.

"Has been a long time," Luka said quietly, making Luki strain towards her, "Since I ate out with someone,"

The tips of Luki's mouth rose into a smile. He instinctively slid his hand into Luka's, squeezing it affectionately.

Luka, taken aback, lowered her head and smiled as well, squeezing their joint hands as well.


	9. Chapter 9

"_Madame?"_

The door bell dings as Luki makes his way through the shop, peeking tentatively into it.

"Luki! Come, come! _Eet eez _done!" Ann gestures for Luki to come to the back of the shop and Luki follows her, walking through a golden curtain.

His breath is taken away by the dress displayed on a mannequin's body. He gapes at it and walks around it, pointing at it and at himself. "Did I actually make this myself?"

Ann simply shows him the design he handed in and shakes her head in amazement. "You are _zimply _amazing," She claps her hands. "_Parfait,_"

"I hope she likes this," Luki runs his fingers down the dress' bodice. "How did I design this?" He mutters to himself.

Chuckling, Ann is caught by surprise when the shop's bell rings. She peeks out the curtain and after a second of greeting the customer, she turns back and mouths in panic; '_Hide!'_

Luki runs further behind the shop and hides inside a cupboard Ann told him about after draping a cloth over the dress he designed.

Luki slaps his forehead as he hears Luka's familiar voice in the shop, speaking French fluently and very well within his understanding. She's looking for the dress designs she handed in and wondered about when she could take them home.

He breathes a sigh of relief when he hears from Ann that the dresses are displayed up front of the shop, so that means that Luka doesn't have to enter the back of the shop and peek around only to find out about his birthday present.

It seems that not only does Luki have a birthday present for Luka, she is also gushing over a pair of shoes Ann is giving to her earlier for her birthday tomorrow.

"_O mon dieu, Ann! Je'taime! Merci beaucoup!"_ She exclaims, probably hugging Ann very tightly until Ann expresses her inability to breathe.

Ann quickly ushers Luka out and right after Luki catches the sound of the door closing, his phone rings, indicating an incoming text.

"_Eet'z zafe _now," Ann wipes her forehead playfully and Luki thanks her gratefully, checking his phone afterwards.

It's Luka, sending him a picture of Ann's present.

"_Eet eez _a match with your _drezz_," Ann high-fives Luki, the two grinning happily. "_Zo_," Ann rubs her hands together. "Do you _'ave_ something else to add to _zees drezz?_"

Luki scratches the back of his head and answers. "_Je suis désolé, _but I do have something to add,"

Ann smiles and nods. "_Zat eez _fine, I would love to _zee_ you work,"

She brings in a big velvet box and opens it for Luki to see. Every kind of sewing equipments in any color and in any size could be seen in the box. Luki marvels at it for a good 10 minutes, learning what each object can and cannot do.

Ann chuckles and tells him that she would leave him to his work.

Luki nods and immediately took out the tools he needed, working on perfecting the dress so that it can suit Luka's liking.

He adds sequins here and there, joins beads with the fabric, ties ribbons, cuts sections, sews in more fabric, and it isn't long until the day turns dark and it's late when Luki realizes it.

He glances at the clock and sees that it is nearly 12.

"Just perfect," He yawns, surveying his work with a satisfied smile.

Ann comes to the back to see and she looks at Luki in wonder. "I hope you could '_ave_ been my son," She pats Luki's head and provides him with a box, helping him fold the dress.

"Be careful, Luki," Ann waves. "_Bonne chance!_" She throws him a flying kiss, wishing him luck.

Luki, after hugging Ann, trots away towards Luka's house, excited to hand her the dress when the clock strikes twelve, exactly when her birthday arrives.

He doesn't press the intercom, instead, he knocks at the guard post and shows his face to the guards, who apparently, is familiar with him. They let him in with two thumbs up when they know what he's up to.

"Go from the back. Her window is the one with the golden edges," They grin. "We'll let Gakupo know and by the time you're there, the lady will be out,"

Thanking them, Luki quietly sneaks to the back of the mansion and glance up, his eyes meeting those of Luka's.

"Luki?" She frowns.

"Yeah," He grins. "Happy birthday,"

"Oh my-" Luka covers her mouth and pulls her shoulder wrap higher. "Wait there,"

Luki does as he is told and in a minute, Luka is down in the garden with him, staring at him in disbelief.

"Did you just come from Ann's?" She asks.

"Did you hear my phone ring?" Luki grimaces.

"That really was your phone!" Luka covers her face and shakes her head in bewilderment. "I can't believe you two are working together,"

Luki shrugs and the two laughs. He hands Luka the present and looking at the dress inside, her knees buckle under her and she squats on the grass, hugging the box to her chest.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Luki kneels in front of her in worry and abruptly, Luka sets the box down and throws herself onto Luki, wrapping her arms around him and enveloping him in a hug,

Her tears wet his shoulders and she whispers, "Thank you. Thank you so much,"

Luki, recovering from his shock, smiles at the girl hugging him and returns the embrace warmly, breathing in the scent of her hair. "You're welcome," He says, kissing the top of her head.

Luka lets go and takes the box again, carrying it like it was a huge slab of gold. Luki takes off his jacket and wraps it around Luka's shoulders, figuring out that the shoulder wrap she had was too thin for the night. He pecks her forehead and smiles down at her. "Happy birthday again, Luka,"


	10. Chapter 10

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Loud pops of confetti and toy trumpets ring across the dining hall, festive even though the clock strikes 12 at night. Luka gives out a yelp of surprise and presses her hands on the spot on her chest where her heart is, gazing fondly at everybody present in the room, touched. "Aww!" She gushes.

Luki takes a hat from Gakupo's hand and places it on Luka's head, grinning at how happy she is right now. "Were you part of this too?" She eyes Luki suspiciously and he shakes his head with a chuckle.

"I was just the dress,"

Luka gushes yet again and fans her eyes, holding her chin up in an effort to stop her tears from streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so glad I have you guys with me. Thanks for being with me and for all this," She says, beginning to sniffle.

Everybody in the room chuckles and Luki reaches out to put an arm over her shoulders. "Hey, hey," He tilts his head to peer into her face, now lowered and teary.

"I'm sorry, it's-" She clears her throat as her voice cracks and then looks up with a smile. "You know I'm emotional,"

And with that, the cake comes out of the kitchen upon a trolley, rolled in by who else if not Luka's favorite chef.

"Hiroshi," She mewls gratefully at him, holding out on a sob. "I was just starting to be able to hold back from crying,"

Everybody starts to sing Blow Out the Candles and Luka closes her eyes for a moment, making a silent wish, for everybody's happiness and health, right before she blows out the candles smoothly.

Applause ripples throughout the room and Luki hands her some tissues, allowing her to blow her nose and wipe her tears. Gakupo helps her cut the cake and hands a slice for her to give out.

"First cake, huh?" She smiles down at the piece of cake in her hands. "It goes to you," Luka looks up to meet Luki's eyes and stands on tiptoes to peck his cheek. "Thank _you_, so much," Her eyes lock on his and for a moment, nothing passes in between them except for the overflowing affection they feel for each other.

"Second and third," She moves on and turns at her heels. "Gakupo and Hiroshi, respectively, and you guys know I cherish you as much as I cherish these three, but distributing this big of a cake at this time of the night; it'll get me no sleep,"

Laughter rings out in the hall and everybody starts digging into the cake served. For hours, chatter drags on and eventually, Gakupo persists on making Luka get some sleep instead of cleaning up.

"I'll get things done down here and Luki, please take her to her room," He stops Luka from saying another word with a look.

"That never stops working on me," She looks away and Luki gives out a hearty laugh before taking her hand and walking her to her room, which is right across from his.

"You really should stop crying," Luki stops her before she makes her way into her room through her door, grinning down at her teary face. He wipes away a fresh tear with his thumb.

"Shut up," Luka blinks repeatedly but doesn't pull away. "I'm always very insecure about getting loved back, since, my parents, you know," She trails off. "So I didn't expect them to love me back as much,"

"Of course they do," Luki shakes his head incredulously. "Of course they do,"

Nodding quietly, Luka leans into the warmth of his hand, putting her hand over his. "I really appreciated it. I may not express it well, but I really did and will always do,"

"I'll make sure to get that message to them," Luki smiles down at her and pulls out a long, velvet box from his pocket. "By the way, I didn't think the dress was enough, so, um, here's my, uhh, second present?"

"Wha-No way!" Luka steps back in surprise, shaking her head. "The dress is _enough_,"

"It goes with the dress," Luki advances towards her and opens the box to reveal a simple golden necklace with a leaf-shaped pendant. "Here," He gestures for her to turn around and Luka, unable to refuse, does so, putting up her hair and allowing him to put the necklace around her neck. "It symbolizes happiness," Luki says gently, turning her around to face him. He frowns in thought as he stutters. "I, err, I thought that a ring might be too, what's the word, weird? Too much pressure? Too much of a statement or, you know, too restraining? It's-"

Her lips quickly stop his words, as Luka stands on her tiptoes to kiss him softly. In surprise and reflex, Luki's eyes flutter closed and he wraps his arm around her waist, and find himself kissing back as his other arm rests on the wall besides Luka's head, with her sandwiched between his body and the concrete structure. Luka's fingers tangle itself among Luki's hair and pulls him closer to her as she tilts her head and puts her hand behind his neck.

Luki becomes the first to draw back and he quickly pulls the woman towards him, enveloping her in a tight hug as their chests heave with heavy breathing, lacking air from the kiss they just shared. "Not here," Luki says into her hair. "No control. Not now,"

Luka nods in understanding and in reluctance, they let go of each other and come into their separate bedrooms, sliding down their doors as their knees buckle under them.

They had no idea their feelings could do that.


End file.
